Dr Karl Robinson, past editor of the Journal of American
Institute of Homoeopathy was in Bombay for 4-6 weeks to learn more about
Homoeopathy. Clearly here was an academically inclined homoeopath who has
imbibed and lives with the value of continual fresh inputs into Homoeopathy. We
felt that here was a man from whose life we could learn. Dr Vishpala
Parthasarathy talks to him in Bombay.

VP: We understand you have embraced Homoeopathy
quite late. As you know, in India we choose a career very early and then stick
to it all our lives. So your change would be very interesting for our readers.
Could you please tell us about it?KR: I have had a chequered career. I spent two
years in Africa as a school teacher and then joined the US Military. But I
always cherished a dream to go back to Africa. So I took up Journalism. Since
all of us love stories, I started writing about Americans working in Nigeria. At
that point I burnt my leg in a motorcycle accident and as a result I landed up
in the Albert Schweitzer Hospital in a small town called Gabon. While at the
hospital I had this overwhelming message, a conversion experience, not religious
you understand, but something within, that said I should become a doctor. For a
few days I went in a cocoon to think and meditate : "should I, should I not
?" I was a very good Journalist, why should I not continue ? Yes, no yes,
no, pros and the cons.... From journalism to medicine was quite a change,.
Finally after 4-5 days of intense thinking I was filled with energy and I
decided that I would give myself two years to get in a medical college. That is
my karma with medicine.

The Conversion:VP: That was the first step : From journalism
to medicine. But how did that progress to Homoeopathy ?KR: When I took up medicine, I went to the
Hahnemann college of medicine, Philadelphia. At that time it was no longer a
Homoeopathic medical college but instead or regular medical college. But my room
mates father who was a psychiatrist had studied Homoeopathy in this very college
in 1968. He said "Homoeopathy works. My father has been using it for
years". So I tucked away this piece of information at the back of my mind.
Later, I became a resident in Harlem at New York city, where all the black
people live. That was a very frustrating experience with a lot of crimes gunshot
wounds, strokes, tuberculosis etc. It was very discouraging since we could do so
little. So I started looking towards other forms of medical therapy viz
Vitamins, Nutrition,....... and finally Homoeopathy took its seed. I took up my
first course in 1978 which was sponsored by the National Centre for Homoeopathy.
And thats how I got started. Thats the story.

VP: Since then it has been Homoeopathy all the
way ?KR: I have been practising Homoeopathy since
1978 thats 14 years. I am now 55 years young!

The Eternal LearnerVP: Has it been smooth sailing or have there
been any obstacles?KR: As we all know Homoeopathy is not easy, nor
is there only one way to practice. I am basically a learner. I have studied at a
lot many places. I have studied with Vithoulkas for 4 years, with Ezigaya, with
Prakash Vakil, Dilip Dixit of India, with Sheila Creisy in the UK. I have also
studied with Geukens, Ananda Zalen, Bill Gray, Roger Morrison and others.

VP: Thats amazing! How on earth did you manage
all that time ?KR: Till today I continue to devote part of the
year learning with someone. In fact I came here in Bombay for that purpose.

In India, be Indian, eat IndianVP: How has your trip to India been?KR: I have been to India many times before.
Everywhere in India people have been pushing food at me. They are so hospitable.
I feel stuffed at times. Yet I can tolerate the food well. Even the road side
stuff.

VP: What is your opinion about Homoeopathy in
India ?KR: I must say, I think in Bombay you have some
of the best Homoeopaths in the world. I am very impressed by what I see here.

VP: What do you think about the future of
Homoeopathy here ?KR: I think it is good. Most people usually
resort to polypharmacy. Classical Homoeopathy is the only thing that interests
me. There seems to be temperamently few people in any country who have firstly
the aptitude, secondly the willingness and thirdly the perseverance. It takes a
lot many years to get a grasp for Classical Homoeopathy. Here I was sitting with
a fellow Homoeopath, young enough to be my son, yet he knows more than I do. So
its all like that. The future may be bright. More and more people have
recognised the fact that the emotion and psyche play an important role.
Homoeopathy obviously speaks the same. Now if somebody just
wants a shot to feel better and their whole mind is on that materialistic level
then I do not think that they are ready for homoeopathy, unless a terribly
incredible thing happens. One also needs a lot of highly skilled practice and
training which is difficult. Homoeopathy is a code. Break the code and get
results. e.g. Belladonna has jumping on and off the bed continuously, meaning
over and over again. Repeated motions. Therefore a time has come for a dream and
a delusion state. Homoeopathy is growing. Even in America it is growing but we
still have nothing much brag about. In America there are three states that have
laws which allow to practice Homoeopathy, unfortunately they are abused.

All roads lead to Rome?VP: It is fascinating that you have studied all
over the world. Could you tell us you experiences and results?KR: The interesting thing is that everybody
gets results. The question is what percentage? The other question is, when one
helps a patient, one usually loses track in 2-3 months. So one is not sure. The
teaching however is based on that case. One needs at least a full year of follow
up before any comment. Even a dramatic illness, though acute if cured would be
sufficient. One gets good results to convince himself, but teaching somebody it
might be a little false because that is an onerous responsibility.

VP: Different homoeopaths approach the case in
different ways. Could you tell us as to how you get with all the different types
of approaches ?KR: As a matter of fact I have never done that
well. With me its like whoever I am with at a given time, I practise accordingly
and then I move to someone else. Along the way, some things stick. However I
cannot say that I have integrated everybody's approaches beautifully. I do not
have that kind of mind to do so.

The Best ApproachVP: What do you think is the best kind of
approach ?KR: I am always on the lookout for the most
elegant manner. Elegance has a very interesting definition i.e. for a minimum
input you get the maximum output. Its like a scientific experiment which has
been elegantly set up. You just add a drop and lo! you get a beautiful reaction.
In Homoeopathy - to watch a patient walk, shake hands and you name the remedy or
you watch a child play for 2-3 minutes and you name the remedy. Now, that is
elegance.

VP: What is your opinion about the different
remedies viz acute, rare, polycrest etc ?KR: Ah! there is quite a funny thing about
drugs. Say Naja. I had never used Naja
till I saw a few Naja cases and follow ups.. I now know Naja very well. So now I
say, how could I practice for so many years without using Naja?
There is no Naja in the US. India is however the
land of the cobra. Lachesis too is not native to US,
it is native to Brazil. But then Lachesis we use all
the time. It is always like this : everytime I learn about a new remedy I know
that I am going to use it. Slowly my Materia Medica broadens. Also there are
drugs you learn as adult pictures and a couple of years later you could
prescribe it to a child. One could learn a drug which has been used in a chronic
case but you could use it as an acute. Then the constitutional remedies say Hyoscyamus,
Stramonium etc. Now, these can also be used in acute
conditions. I have had a case of Maniac Depressive Psychosis and I gave her a
dose of Stramonium. She was better and I had her
follow up for 6 months. When one reads about Stramonium,
it says raging and frothing at the mouth. This woman had nothing of that sort.

Case taking is of importVP: So it all beats down to how to take a case
?KR: What is never taught in a medical school is
how to percieve the story behind the patients story. The strange thing is that
we listen to the patients story, then we lengthen it together, understand it and
finally we find the remedy that covers the story behind the patients story. One
can spend an hour and a half with a patient listening to a lot of things, but
what really counts is the way a person reacts i.e. Idiosyncrasy, if I may use
the word to give stress which usually shows the way out. Say five of us get
bitten by a dog, not all of us would develop a fear of dogs. Homoeopathy is a
vast vast ocean! Every persons idiosyncratic reaction is peculiar to him and
that is the fun of it. This is what we call perception. It is tricky and is very
difficult to be taught.

VP: How have you brought your journalist
expertise to fruit in the Homoeopathic field ?KR: I was an editor on the JAIH for 4 years.
But it was not a very pleasant or rewarding experience. It was very frustrating
as Homoeopaths just do not seem keen to write articles. Annoying because
Allopaths vie with each other to write.

Homoeopathy gives him a wifeVP: What do you think about you as a person
yourself and Homoeopathy ?KR: I feel Homoeopathy was my destiny and I
think, I have created my destiny. I sort of decided to pursue Homoeopathy.

VP: How do you balance Homoeopathy with your
personal life ?KR: I am married since five years. My wife is
an economist. She testifies trails in courts. She has to decide how much money
should be paid to persons in accidents, debts etc. She came to me as a patient.
She had recurrent respiratory problems and Homoeopathy turned her around.... So
there is my balance!

Homoeopathy: spread thru greater awarenessVP: What is the best way to spread Homoeopathy
?KR: I think we have to work together to raise
the consciousness of the class of people so that they demand it. People must
learn about it. There must be a turning to this sort of subtle medicine. It is
not just a matter of getting a talk on radio or TV. All humanity must change
towards not wanting this materialistic (Allopathic) medicine. People must
realise that the Psyche and the body are interconnected and has to do so in a
meaningful way.